Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question

StepChange_Allen

scotty1971 said:

Can I change bank accounts online as the bank I am with just now will be part of my DAS? I need  to change accounts and have to have the mandate sent back to yourselves by the 18th of this month. So is it possible to change online.
Hope you can help with this.
Thanks 

Hi Scotty

Many banks will allow you to open an account online, though it can sometimes be hard to find the basic accounts on their websites, as they're trying to sell the ones they make money from.

I hope that helps.

Allen

LynneJ

Hello . Can anyone give me the email addresses for virgin money credit card . Barclay card  and MBNA and HSBC as I want to ask them to hold interest as am drowning and only paying minimum . Thanks 

StepChange_Allen

LynneJ said:

Hello . Can anyone give me the email addresses for virgin money credit card . Barclay card  and MBNA and HSBC as I want to ask them to hold interest as am drowning and only paying minimum . Thanks 

Hi Lynne

Thanks for posting.

I'm afraid we don't have a list of each creditor's e-mail address. The best thing to do would be to either visit each lender's website and check out the contact us page, or to give them a call and ask them for the best e-mail address to send this kind of request to.

It sounds like you might benefit from speaking with a debt advisor about your situation. If you like, you can register with us free of charge, either on the phone or online; details can be found at: www.stepchange.org/contact-us

Best wishes

Allen

Darkknight16

Hi, I'm new to this forum, in fact it's the first time I wrote on any forum..... but I feel I need to do this.
Stupidly over the past 5 to 6 years I've taken out several loans and built up some credit card debt in the region of £40K. Although my monthly pay covers all the monthly payments and my other bills, there isn't much money left after all these payments are made.
I recently inherited some money from my late father, however not enough to clear my debts. I am currently living of this money, but it is soon dwindling down and I am worried I'm going to run out of money. Im constantly looking for other ways to make additional money but haven't found anything as yet. I can't talk to any friends or family about my situation as I am embarrassed and ashamed of where I've ended up, and I know the upset it will bring. 
What options do I have to get my debt down that won't ruin my credit file more than it already has? 

StepChange_Allen

Darkknight16 said:

Hi, I'm new to this forum, in fact it's the first time I wrote on any forum..... but I feel I need to do this.
Stupidly over the past 5 to 6 years I've taken out several loans and built up some credit card debt in the region of £40K. Although my monthly pay covers all the monthly payments and my other bills, there isn't much money left after all these payments are made.
I recently inherited some money from my late father, however not enough to clear my debts. I am currently living of this money, but it is soon dwindling down and I am worried I'm going to run out of money. Im constantly looking for other ways to make additional money but haven't found anything as yet. I can't talk to any friends or family about my situation as I am embarrassed and ashamed of where I've ended up, and I know the upset it will bring. 
What options do I have to get my debt down that won't ruin my credit file more than it already has? 

Hi there

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

I'm sorry to hear of the situation that you're in but it's good that you've reached out for some help and advice. I appreciate that it can feel embarrassing to be in debt, but there are millions of people within the UK that are struggling. These things can easily happen.

Without knowing your income, household bills, living costs and more details about your debts, I can't give specific advice about the options you have. However, if you'd like to register with us free of charge, we can assess your full circumstances and recommend the best steps to take, and what options you may have.

You can register with us online or by phone, details can be found on our website: http://www.stepchange.org/contact-us

I hope this is helpful.

Allen

Daven66

Hi , I`m currently on a DMP which i started last August and all monthly payments have been made. However i received a letter today from one of my creditors advising me that my Account is being transferred to a Recoveries team. They do confirm they will still temporarily accept reduced payments but it`s not contractually binding. Is some third party Recovery Team going to be trying to contact me soon or will they contact Stepchange. 

Akelly

Looking for some advice please. 
So im currently on a dmp but atm making token payments. Ive recently chnged my job and have to work a month in lieu. I work on the Bank in the NHS. Im able to pay for my dmp payments but not sure how much because it depends on what i work/is available.

I created 14k debt from gambling. After a replapse im back on track again with gamcare.
My question is how do i work out what i can afford if im unable to know what im working? Also can some of this debt be written off?
Im also looking to go to uni in sept, what happens when i become a full time student? 

sar1975

Hi
I have received a letter from Link Finance saying I owe money on a Barclaycard...they now have the debt.In 2012 I agreed to pay them £1 a month (through Stepchange advice)which I have continued to do.I noticed in May 2019 payment stopped but i did not cancel it. Now they are asking for the full amount.Where do i stand on what i should pay them and because I have paid a offer payment has that scuppered the debt being statute barred?

Triptik

Hi,
Hopefully this is the right place. I'm in need of advice and kind of new to financial management/ recovery.

Over the course of a few years I accrued around £5k on my credit card. Last year I got a 0% balance transfer card with Virgin to wipe the debt from the first and started repaying that.

Now though, thanks to life events I've now reached £4600 on the first one again. Still got about 4k on the Virgin card.

I have a mortgage, a non-working partner with autism and a 1 year old. I have one source of income, my job (full-time), which doesn't quite cover the essentials (mortgage, bills, food shop etc.) so I'm constantly going overdrawn and being charged. There are some luxuries in there such as an Adobe subscription for £50 per month, so I've made a little spreadsheet and I've worked out I can cut out the luxuries and down on the essentials so they are covered by my job. But I've still got the two cards to pay off.

My question is, do I get a second 0% balance card to clear the first one again, cut the first one up so I never use it again and slowly repay the two balance transfer cards with what's left over from my job (after cutting and budgeting so I don't go overdrawn) and transfer THAT debt to other balance cards later down the line should I need to (closer to the end of the 0% 28 month period or whatever the length of period is)? - I've done the eligibility checker again and I have a 95% chance of getting a 29-month card.

I'd like to get on-top of this before it turns into a bit of a horror story.
I hope that all makes sense.
Thanks in advance for your help,
Dan

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.

It’s quite common for a creditor to pass a debt on to a collection’s agency, even when the debts being paid in a DMP. All you’d need to do is let your DMP provider know who is now collecting for the debt, so that ongoing payments can be paid to them instead. From what you’ve mentioned, i'm assuming StepChange is your DMP provider, if you contact our client support team and let them know who the collections agency is, they’ll set things up with them ongoing. You should soon recieve a letter with the name of the collections agency.

Thanks
Rachael

Daven66 said:

Hi , I`m currently on a DMP which i started last August and all monthly payments have been made. However i received a letter today from one of my creditors advising me that my Account is being transferred to a Recoveries team. They do confirm they will still temporarily accept reduced payments but it`s not contractually binding. Is some third party Recovery Team going to be trying to contact me soon or will they contact Stepchange.